Hobart Airforce 500534 Plasma Cutter Review

The Hobart Airforce 500534 Plasma Cutter is a portable, lightweight plasma cutter that actually has an air compressor included while being powered by your standard household current. What this means is that there’s no need to hook up the the device to a special generator and whatnot. It’s made to run on any home with an electrical socket. What this means is that it’s a cutter that’s aimed more for the homeowner crowd.

With that said, it doesn’t compromise on its benefits even though it’s not strictly speaking industrial grade. That’s because most households don’t even need an industrial-grade cutter. It’s like thinking a hacksaw or a chainsaw is automatically better when all you really just need is a knife or scissors. The usefulness of the tool depends on the application, and this is one of the best DIY home tools for cutting conductive metals cleanly.

An Adaptable and Versatile Cutter

Thanks to the way it’s built, the Hobart Airforce 500534 won’t overload your power supply and it’s made to cleanly cut up any metal material even if its surface has paint, is dirty, or is covered in slag and rust. It easily cuts up to ¼ of mild steel. Meanwhile, its electrical arc allows it to cut thicker material like stainless steel and aluminum with the precision of a factory assembly line cutter.

If that’s not enough, then how about the fact that the Hobart Airforce 500534 has fairly good resale value, doesn’t have stiff ground cables that could limit your movement, has some of the longest and far-reaching hoses around and is easy to move around thanks to its portability, lightweight design, and overall smallness? You can even turn it on and use it immediately thanks to its compressor that’s built right into the piece of equipment.

More Bang for Your Buck

The Hobart Airforce 500534 Plasma Cutter also manages to give you more value out of your investment. Just make sure that you run on it on a decent, non-cheap extension cord or always work near a wall socket. Furthermore, keep the opening end of the dinky guide pointing down and cut in a pulling motion so that the cutter is at the same direction as the hoses.

This ensures that your gun is parallel with the cut and the cut comes out as smooth and accurate as possible. For amateurs out there, it’s important that you learn how to relax your grip because a tight grip will naturally lead to tired hands or shaky cuts when all is said and done, especially with a cutter that can glide through conductive metals with little to no resistance. Practice your cuts with the gun off as well.

Specifications

Lightweight: Hobart Airforce 500534 250ci is a lightweight device and even comes with a built-in air compressor to help you save money and whatnot.

Powered by Standard Household Current:The unit can be plugged into any householod current, which eliminates the need for adapters and converters.

Ability to Cut Various Conductive Metals:The machine can cut all sorts of materials, specifically conductive metal like steel (mild or stainless), aluminum, copper, and so forth.

Precision Cutting: The plasma cutter can provide you with thinner kerf, less slag, and the most precise cuts possible with little resistance, so your cuts are also faster (or at least after than oxy fuel cutters).

Accessories: This power tool also comes with a convenient cable management strap, extra replacement tips, a 115 VAC plug plus seven-foot power cord, and 16.5-foot heavy duty work clamp.

Size and Weight: This piece of equipment weighs 27 pounds and is 10 inches by 7½ inches by 13 inches.

Warranty: It has a Hobart limited warranty.

Hobart 500534 Review

The only thing I regret from buying the Hobart Airforce 500534 is that I waited too long to get it and I didn’t buy it before. That’s about it. I got more than I bargained for (in a good way) when I finally got my own Hobart. It made DIY projects much easier and I don’t have to hire contractors to cut metals down and whatnot. In the end, by buying this unit, you’ll save money and time while avoiding nonsense like fine-tuning parts with the grinding wheel and spending money on cut-off wheels. It’s a must-buy through-and-through.

According to 34 customer reviews, the Hobart Airforce 500534 Plasma Cutter has a 3.4 out of 5 star rating.

Cons

It’s not completely perfect, as indicated by its 3.4 rating. There are complaints on Amazon.com about it not performing as well as other units, and this roots from the fact that this is a home unit that at best should cut thin strips of steel. It’s not as strong as industrial cutters and if you cut thick pieces it will give out faster than its more professional counterparts.

Just cut thick pieces like ¼ inch or ⅛ inch work pieces occasionally, since it’s fairly slow in cutting these parts up. The guide leaves much to be desired too. It’s dinky and is just folded thick wire at best. You’ll get good using the plasma cutter because the guide isn’t that good at guiding; you’ll have to get good in order to get results! There are also better plasma cutter guides out there. Finally, the cool-off period can get annoying in its length.

Conclusion

Even when you take into consideration all of the cons of the Hobart Airforce 500534 Plasma Cutter, you will quickly see that it’s actually quite the underrated plasma cutter with its 3.4 rating. It’s perfect for homeowners and DIY hobbyists who want to take home improvement to the next level.

It’s not an industrial-grade plasma cutter, sure, but do you really need industrial-grade work on everyday home cutting projects? The Hobart Airforce 500534 comes ready right out of the box. You don’t have to adjust any knobs or set any settings to make it work according to your needs. It’s as easy to use as a glue gun. Point it at the work piece, pull the trigger, and cut.

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